Abstract
Haloxylon ammodendron is a perennial xerophyte that can survive in extremely harsh desert conditions of Central Asia. This study evaluated the effect of salinity, and their ability to recover on seed germination of H. ammodendron, which were collected at three different desert areas, Bakanas takyr plain (H1), Gurbantüngüt Desert (H2), and Gobi Desert (H3), respectively. Seeds were treated with different concentrations of NaCl and Na2SO4 (0.00 (control), 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80, 1.00, 1.20, and 1.40 mol/L) to detemine the germination and recover ability to salt stress. The results of the study were that H. ammodendron were more resistant to Na2SO4 than to NaCl. Regarding inhibition of seed germination H. ammodendron was in the following order: H3 > H2 > H1. Based on the tolerance and recovery, seeds can be demonstrated as follows: NaCl: H3 > H1 > H2; Na2SO4: H1 = H2 = H3. Non-germinated seeds in all salt treatments with low osmotic potential showed high recovery when transferred to distilled water, indicating that these treatments were not too toxic to affect seed viability. These results suggest that H. ammodendron can withstand high levels of salinity at three desert environments. Thus, H. ammodendron could be used to reconstruct vegetation and sustanbility development in the desert areas with high salinity.